Yarn Scarf....

I found this scarf on a blog I stumbled across a while back. I knew I wanted to make it. I even pinned it onto my Pinterest collection. 

 

The blog is called Katy Did and she has some neat ideas in her blog. (And the cutest little girl!)

Check it out. (although she seems to have stopped contributing to her blog after an unfortunate copyright incident......)

Anyway, here is the scarf. As you can see, it's all thick, soft yarn and it's stitched together!!

I used gold yarn and I happened to have some shiny gold thread left over from another project. I used that for sewing it together.

I left a bigger space between the stitching than Katie did.

It wasn't easy stitching across the yarn. I couldn't keep the yarn as wide apart as I wanted to. The sewing machine kept smooshing it together. 

For the first few sections, I used masking tape to hold the yarn together, but it was a bull to pull off without shredding the fuzziness of the yarn. If I had had some of that less sticky blue tape, it probably would have worked better.

By leaving bigger spaces between the stitching, I am able to interlock the scarf halves to wear it without tying it.

I made it the same length as one of my regular scarves.

As a matter of fact, I am wearing it right now!

Thanks, Katie.

What I did on Friday the 13th.....

I love defying superstitions right in their faces.

I will sit in seat 13, I will walk under a ladder, I will pick up a piece of lava/pumice from the parking lot of Mount St. Helens.

I heard on the radio this morning that there will be 3 Friday the 13th's this year and they are 13 weeks apart from each other. Yippee!!

But I didn't really care because that night I went to see.........

........at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine at 8 PM.

And I went all by myself. (well, there were other people in the audience, but I didn't know them.)

The previous weekend I went online, found a decent SINGLE ticket and got it. Mr. Downeastdoingstuff was nice enough to think about me walking around, all alone, in the dark in the big city, so he actually drove me to the door and then later, picked me up!! Very, very nice.

That's the way he is.

All day long I could see the trucks parked in a parking lot near my school. Three big mother suckers.

My seat was in the Terrace section...not too bad!

Curtain call. (shhh, we were warned that taking photos was against the law. I don't think curtain call counts, do you?)


It was very enjoyable. BUT I didn't care for the guy that played Sam Carmichael.

Thinks he 'all that', ya think? There just was no chemistry between him (gag) and the leading lady. at. all.

Who would pose for a photo like that? I don't think it's at all sexy or anything.

Take a breath already.

Here's who played Sam Carmichael in the movie...Pierce Brosnan aka James Bond.

You decide....

But, other than that, it was great fun. I still think I like the Movie better. Being in actual Greece with the aqua water and all that, well, I like that better.

My program. (Black and white? Run out of ink in the color cartridge?)

I'm still singing....ahhh....

Home today...

FIRST SNOW DAY of the year!! Got the call at 4:20 a.m. and it wasn't even snowing yet.

Went back to sleep, got up and had breakfast around 7:30, and have been researching wasting time on my laptop eversince. (it's 10:15 now.)

I get emails from all sorts of discount, half price deals thrown my way. Usually it's for restaurants or massage parlors...stuff like that. 

This morning from Groupon I got this deal. I don't know if I could pass it up!

Not just one Justin Bieber singing toothbrush, but TWO! OMG

I don't know what to do.

Maybe Mr. Downeastdoingstuff (AKA Birdman) and I can simultaneously brush our teeth and have a duet going!

The possibilities are endless!

or...

NOT!

Lord help us.  (note the '37 bought' info on the ad.)

This country is in more trouble than I thought.

Crocheting.....

I love doing things with my hands. My hands need to be busy all the time.

There's a fantastic blog out there that I love. This inspiring woman also keeps her hands moving and does lots of hand sewing. If it didn't take so long, I'd hand sew everything.

Anyway, she had a post about knitting with thread. Since I don't know how to knit, crocheting was my attempt at this unlikely scenerio. 

It was NOT easy. Check out the above photo. Just making the chain stitches in the first row was interesting. Thread is very slippery.

Then adding to the chain stitch felt like trying to make bows out of wet spaghetti covered with sauce. 

Thread does not hold itself in place or keep it's shape very well.

I stuck to it and ended up with the above....and that's at far as I've gotten. What could I make out of that???

So then I tried two threads at a time. A little bit easier. In about 6 years, I will have a scarf.

So I went back to my Infinity Scarf with real yarn. I have to make 56 inches of this pattern, the directions inform me. Mine might be a bit shorter.

I thought it was going to be a mobius strip, but I don't think it is.

That's good. I like things to have more than one side to them.

Happy New Year...

I'm wishing you all a New Year filled with joy, laughter and health.

with love, Elenka

MERRY CHRISTMAS....

Merry Christmas to all my cyber friends.

It's been so great getting to 'know' you all.

Hope you have a wonderful day.

Merry Madness...

Every year, mid December, Portland, Maine has a party of sorts.  

They call it Merry Madness and it begins at one of the area hotels with wine (which you can purchase in a Merry Madness wine glass for 6 bucks) and free hor doerves, hor doreves , snacks sponsored by area restaurants.

Then the shops down in the Old Port remain open late and also have munchies and beverages to refill your Merry Madness glass that you carry around.

After attending this event for many years, Birdman and I have learned the protocol necessary to have a good time. First and foremost, GET THERE EARLY!

This year we were the 10th and 11th in line to the Ballroom. Got our pick of food.

One year we were about the 610th and 611th people in line. 10th and 11th is much better.

This year it started at the Portland Regency Hotel.

 This is the tree in their lobby.

As you can see, after the 10th and 11th people walked in, there were hundreds more.
All the shops were lit. All the shoppers were lit.

(Outside this beautifully lit window was this woman...lower right....looking down. You don't know this, but now you do, she was looking down at a little boy about 2 years old that was having a MAJOR temper tantrum in his stroller. Loud voices tend to echo in the streets of the Old Port and this young man made his presence known to most of the Merry Madnessers.  He was BAD!)

I know that Santa was watching, so this lad will probably get a lump of coal in his stocking.

But not to worry. 

He'll eventually learn that it's actually quite fun....strolling around downtown in the pitch dark, on a cold mid December night, a little wobbly on your feet, carrying your own sippy cup.

He'll learn.

New Painting......

Deering Oaks Park. Portland, Maine

Tempera paint. 17" x 25".

Puppy portrait....

My latest pooch portrait.

What a difference 10 days make......

Healthy breakfast......

Mr. Downeastdoingstuff aka Birdman loves to eat. By that I mean, he will eat anything while still maintaining a svelte physique. Not a fussy eater which is fortunate for me because I like to try new and exciting recipes.

All the time.

There isn't a week that goes by that I don't cook something new, sometimes several times a week.

He will eat it all.

Except for this.
My breakfast.

I don't get it. What's not to like?
Put 1/4 C of Quick Oatmeal in a old pink bowl that you buy at an antique/gift shop.
Add 1 Tbsp of Milled Flaxseed and a smidgen of Cinnamon.


Add a few Nuts (I use walnuts, my fav) and 2 or 3 snipped Prunes. (You snip 'em yourself.)

Add a little more than 1/4 C of Lowfat Cottage Cheese and the same amount of Greek Yogurt.

Stir it up to make a big smoosh. Serve with a slice of Whole Wheat Toast (low cal) and a big mug of steaming Green Tea with Lemon.

Every morning.

What's not to like??

Addendum: Mr. DEDS and I both hate lamb. But that's it.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

This was Friday morning, October 28th, 2011. 

This was today, Sunday morning, October 30, 2011.

WTF?

I'm hooked....

I am soooo hooked. All I do is look at Pinterest......all the time.

I have joined and have saved stuff.

I takes a while to figure out, but just look at what people post and then click on the picture. You will then find out where it came from and get the info you want.

SOOOO much info. I just love it.

Check it out! So cool.

Pinterest

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

If I put candles on my birthday cake equivalent to my age, this is approximately how it would look, I'm sure.

I just paid my house insurance online a few days ago and since sometimes there are snafus in policies going through via computers, I will forego lighting any candles for a while. We also depend on the good graces of a volunteer fire department in this community so being a Saturday, they might be otherwise occupied, leaf peeping and such. So no candles.

I did get a wonderful tribute on Mr. Downeastdoingstuffs blog and I woke up to flowers, a card, some hazelnut coffee and a smooch. My new camera arrived just in the nick of time yesterday afternoon, so I am excited to try that out.

I'm not too thrilled that this day still comes religiously year after year, but I guess it's better than the alternative. So enjoy it I will.

Happy Birthday to me!

It's Bittersweet....

Bittersweet.  Ah, such is life.

But that's not the Bittersweet I am referring to.

I mean this:

I used to drive around all over creation looking for vines of this stuff  to cut and use in fall decorating. It's really lovely in flower boxes.

BUT....

BUT....

The Oriental species is an INVASIVE species and now has taken hold on my property. And I am not too happy about that.

You see, it can kill things, strangling trees and shrubs to death!

And, the entire plant is poisonous. 

And it's almost impossible to get rid of.

So what to do when life gives you lemons?

Make lemonade. 

Or a wreath.

So I cut off long vines of the stuff (which actually makes it grow more), stripped off the leaves and wound the vines into a wreath. Added a few beach rock touches and voila.... 

Speaking of the beach, I usually collect driftwood pieces and interesting shells when at the beach. Remember the fish I made?

I had some left over pieces of wood, so I constructed this wreath.

Probably would look nice if a added some Bittersweet berries to both of those wreaths.

They are not ripe yet. Have to wait.

Hate the stuff.  Love the stuff. (well, 'like' it...)

It sure is Bittersweet.

Rest in Peace.....

Rest in Peace

Steve Jobs

1955-2011

I know that you have changed MY life.

Thank you.

Last chance grilled pizza....

The weather outside is not cooperating with my vision of what the weather outside should be. My vision is 78 degrees and perfect.  

Things are changing. Some people love the fall, but in my mind, although beautiful, autumn is a harbinger of freezing my tushy off.

 

So in these dwindling days of warmth, I can still use my grill without donning a parka. At least today I can.  

Here is a recipe for a grilled pizza....

Here is what I started with...

Sprinkle corn meal on a cookie sheet.

Take the dough, divide it into two pieces and press them into  free form shapes on top of the cornmeal.

I remembered I had some baby spinach in the fridge, so I chopped it up to add to the mixture.
I had some left over canned mushrooms, too.

Heated up the grill, turned it to medium heat and laid the dough carefully onto the grill.

When it looked like this on the bottom, I took it off the grill and put it back onto a cookie sheet, grilled side up.

I didn't use pizza sauce. I used Barbeque sauce.

I put the filling on top of the sauce.

I sprinkled some spices on top.

I put a little mozzarella chesse on it AND some blue cheese sprinkles. Put it back on the grill and grill til it's done on the bottom and the cheese is melted. (be careful not to burn it!!)

Serve with a salad and a glass of red wine or a beer.

Yum!